Wise words at the Lion & Lobster

Met an old friend at the Lion & Lobster
he retired ages ago
but at the toss of a coin fairly soon I will join
and pensioner days I will know

But I'm not there yet at the Lion & Lobster
I'm still working you see
Though I'm still a great fan and am making a plan
and a pensioner soon I will be

Truth be told this old friend at the Lion & Lobster
is several years younger than I
But though he went too soon we all call the tune
for pensioner days by and by

So I met an old friend at the Lion & Lobster
and as I had something to hear
I listened in well to the words he did tell
as a pensioner I'll be this year

©Jemverse

Photo – The Lion & Lobster, Sillwood Street Brighton – Jempics

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London tales #4

Sitting in a London pub
waiting with a jar
seemed the right thing there to do
the meeting place not far
Carnaby Street and Kingly Court
around the corner there
where in a bit I'll wander
a lovely meal to share

Two offspring London working
and me here for the week
so meeting up one evening
a no-brainer so to speak
But I got here quite early
so I'm killing time a while
with a London tipple
and a poem for a smile

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

The Buck

At the Buckingham Arms with my Bro for a beer
Our local, our pub - we both love it here
Conversation will flow and we'll have a good time
with a chat and a game over beer or a wine
It's our mindfulness tonic for mental health's sake
so we'll waste not a moment this pleasure to take

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

More’s the pity

I'll not be going to the pub
this evening with my Bro
which is against my wishes
more's the pity yes, I know

But I'd much sooner keep myself
and loved ones safe from harm
so need to make the sacrifice
and not raise the alarm

For Omicron, the varient
is something I'd prefer
to never meet or entertain
and always to defer

So tonight instead I'm staying in
a pity and a shame
but there'll be times a-plenty
when we can both again

Pop out when we fancy
for a pint down at the pub
The Buckingham in Shoreham
that both us brothers love

©Jemverse

Photo – Yelp.com

Mangolicious

Had a Mangolicious Laines
a lovely IPA
fruity and refreshing
at the end of a long day
Eating at the Open House
all my girls and me
and a lovely Wolfgang
for a delicious tea

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Definitions: ‘Mangolicious’ is a fruity IPA from the Brighton brewery ‘Laines’. The ‘Open House’ is a Brighton gastro-pub where one of the main brews on tap is ‘Laines’. ‘Wolfgang’ is my middle daughter’s Patterdale terrier.

Of pizzas and pubs

And so it is to Bradford
on another winter night
I find myself at Noble Comb
with time to sit and write
It’s fairly packed this evening
with families eating out
and workers sharing pints of beer
their voices raised to shout

The music on the stereo
is not my choice but still
the pizza that I ordered
will satisfy and fill
And the ginger beer was lovely
did its job and reached the spot
whilst I struggled there to finish
the food whilst it was hot

The noise it dissipated
by and by as people went
And me full and defeated
realised I was quite spent
So I finished off my beer
and headed back next door
to the hotel I was staying at
to fall asleep and snore

©Jemverse

Photo – the Noble Comb pub, Shipley (near Bradford), UK – Jempics

Austerity (another casualty)

The Rising Sun at Beeding
is closed and shuttered now
But the stained glass sign outside still hangs
with dignity somehow

Its classic valley views
with a pint come evening time
no longer, sadly, to be seen
when it was at its prime

For now its doors are firmly shut
The beer pumps closed and dry
Another casualty of the times
to bring a tear to eye

But, sad although its closure is
I’m pleased the sign’s still there
As it serves as a reminder
for those who have a care

©Jemverse

The Rising Sun public house at Upper Beeding in Sussex originates from 1857 when it was built as a brewery and ale house. Sadly it closed to the public in 2017, another casualty of UK austerity madness. 

The Tap & Spile

Mirrored lights reflected
in the water here at night
The mystery is magical
and a captivating sight

The Gas Street footbridge shadowed
‘Neath the tower of The Cube
which looms up there behind it
malevolent and huge

But reflected in the water
The Tap & Spile remains
welcoming in the passer-by
to warming log-fire flames

©Jemverse

The Tap & Spile on the Birmingham & Worcester canal side in Birmingham dates from 1821. A ‘spile’ is the small wooden peg used to ‘stop’ or ‘broach’ a keg in order to draw off liquid (such as beer). The Cube, designed by Ken Shuttleworth, was completed in 2010 at a cost of £100 million. 

The Welly

The feet upon the wooden floor
Are moving to the beat
as conversation struggles
for those who’ve found a seat
The man up on the microphone
is getting really loud
But the music’s really throbbing
and is pleasing to the crowd

There’s a lot of different footwear
but one purpose to the fore
To tap and move and dance and spin
on this old wooden floor
And at the Duke of Wellington
with friends in Shoreham here
A lovely time was had by all
with music and a beer

©Jemverse

 

Ye olde trip to Jerusalem

Underneath the castle walls
in the bright sunshine
Eight hundred years and some have passed
of serving ale and wine

Ye Olde trip to Jerusalem
is the place I mention
The oldest pub in England
stands here with good intention

So whilst visiting fair Nottingham
with a toast to passing years
I spent a pleasant lunchtime
with two of their fine beers

©Jemverse

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham, UK. is carved directly out of the rock underneath the castle. It’s been a pub since 1189 and famously served the Crusaders on their way to Jerusalem.